Month: March 2013

Coronation Mantle – Exhibition in the National Museum

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Those who travel to Hungary, could have amazing experience in the whole year. The required programs are to see the Parliament, the Buda Castle, the River Danube with all of the bridges, especially the most famous, the Chain Bridge and naturally any of the museums, particularly the National Museum.

There are several amazing exhibition in the Hungarian National Museum, which show the whole Hungarian History from the Prehistory, trough the Conquest, until the end of the regime in 1990. There is a very special historical relic here, the Coronation mantle, which was the property of the first king of the Hungarians, Saint Steve I. The beautifully designed robe was presented by Saint Steve I.’s wife, who was the first queen of Hungarians, Queen Giselle to the St. Mary’s Church in Székesfehérvár in 1031. The robe was made from a bell shaped, closed vestment, and it represents Jesus Christ, King Steve, Queen Giselle and Prince Imre in beautiful way. It is a beautiful and very old treasure, what is the pride of the Hungarian nation, so when somebody visit to this small but very nice country and especially to the capital, Budapest, it worth to go to the National Museum and see the Coronation robe.

The National Museum located in a very beautiful place, in the Museum Garden, so it gives a great opportunity to those, who want to eat their lunch under the sky before or after the exhibition. Have fun!

Coronation Mantle

Hungarian National Museum
Permanent exhibition

Breakfast in Fruccola

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Before visiting Fruccola to eat breakfast there we had only heard of the place as a healthy place with good breakfasts and lunches. There are currently two Fruccola’s in Budapest, one located at Kristof tér (just by Vaci Utca) and the other one in Arany Janos utca 32. Fruccola also have a slogan saying: „Fruccola makes us happy. Happy is good”

English breakfast in Fruccola at Kristof square

Based on this I had quite high expectations as I went together with my wife to Fruccola to eat breakfast there. It is useful to know that Fruccola at Kristof tér normally opens at 7.00 in the morning and it is open until 20.00 from Monday – Saturday. Fruccola in Arany Janos utca is open from 7.00-19.00 from Monday – Friday.

Fruccola has a nice feeling to it and once you walk inside and look at what they have to offer you might get hungry in a minute (if you weren’t hungry already). The cheapest you can get in Fruccola is a croissant costing 240. We decided to go for something a bit more expensive, so we ordered an omelette with salmon, cream cheese and chives and besides that an English breakfast with baked beans (we skipped those though), grilled mushroom, tomato, bacon, eggs and sausage. To drink we had some fruit juice which was really tasty.

To the breakfast we got an okay portion of bread, though not the typical white bread, but tasty, fresh and maybe we can even call it healthy bread. Once the omelette and the English breakfast arrived we soon understood that if we eat all of this, we will not be eager to eat a lunch at 12.00. It was a lot, and especially the omelette had an extreme size. As far as I noticed the others in Fruccola who asked for other kinds of omelettes got something in the same size, so be prepared for large portions if you decide to eat an omelette in Fruccola. Personally I did not enjoy the cream cheese in my omelette that much, but since I ordered an omelette with salmon and cream cheese, I do not really have the right to complain.

Fruccola omelette with salmon and cream cheese

The fruit juice was delicious so if you ever visit Fruccola to eat a breakfast, you should try drink one or more of the fruit juices on the menu. Except from my little thing with the cream cheese everything was perfect, and we can warmly recommend locals and foreigners a breakfast in Frucciola. The price of our breakfast was about 3000 HUF, which is an average price for a breakfast in Budapest.

For more advices and thoughts, read our article named Breakfast in Budapest.

Watch Turkey – Hungary online for free on March 26th

Posted on by Budapest Guide

If you are one of the many fans who want Hungary to be there in the World Cup in 2014, then you better cheer for the Hungarian players as they face a very difficult opponent in Turkey tomorrow. After a disappointing draw against Romania on Friday the Hungarians will aim for three points in this match. This is how you can see the match for free online!

If you live in Hungary you can simply watch it on M1, the national TV channel in the nation. If you live outside Hungary you can still watch it online, but you need to get a Hungarian IP address to do so. If you want to check your current IP address you can do so in the IP Address Guide.

Once you have gotten hold of your Hungarian IP address, you can just visit the homepage of MTV in Hungary, find the live stream and go ahead and watch the World Cup qualifier match between Turkey and Hungary live online, for free.

In the article about how to get a Hungarian IP address, you will read about a VPN tool named NordVPN. It works easily and is very easy and quick to install and setup. But, it can get quite busy at the Hungarian server, so if you are not satisfied with the result you get, you can always ask for a refund for the service (the offer 30-day payback guarantee if you are not satisfied).

The live stream from M1 in Hungary can normally be found here. Sometimes they use another stream during larger sports events, but if they do so, visit hirado.hu and you should be able to find the live stream there.

We just got rid of more than 500 broken links

We just got rid of more than 500 broken links

Posted on by Budapest Guide

For a long time we have known the fact that there are quite a lot of broken links (links not working) in our Budapest Guide. Unfortunately we did not know how to fix these in an easy way, until we recently got a good advice.

no more broken links in the Budapest GuideThe result was that we installed a little plugin at our webpage which checked all links existing in the Budapest Guide. It had to check more than 4000 links (both internal and external links) and the result that showed up was more than 500 links that did not work. Those numbers are not as bad as they sound, because most links still worked, but back in the period before 2009 we used Blogger to post blog posts in the Budapest Guide. Then we changed everything and started to use WordPress instead, and all former Blogger posts and links and pictures went crazy during the export, and that left lots of broken links and images not working behind. Therefore most of the links which we had to fix were from this period.

The article with information about how to find broken links can be found here.

Now everything should be working
Now a few days later we have fixed all links and according to the statistics there should be no broken links at all in the Budapest Guide at the moment. That should make the site better to use for you as visitors and you will not have to experience high blood pressure as you believe you found what you have been looking for for a long time, only to find a broken link. That is so annoying!

Enjoy the Budapest Guide and all the information in the guide about attractions, museums, restaurants, hotels and other cool stuff in Budapest.

We have also updated the Budapest Guides in all the other languages using this plugin, so hopefully you should find all the other guides free from broken links as well!

Helmut Newton exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts

Helmut Newton exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Helmut Newton BudapestPeople, who like culture, are good people. And the lovers of art never get bored on a place like the capital of Hungary, the wonderful Budapest. The several museums and galleries of the city offer lots of different exhibitions to charm the audience. Just like in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, because there will be a traditional photo exhibition in it.

The museum will open the exhibition from the famous and provocative photographer, Helmut Newton’s work, which show the eras of the artist’s career on 250 pictures. The museum chose the photos of three eras, and these are the one between 1972 and 1983, the one between 1985 and 1995 and the one between 1983 and 2003. The first era’s photos are Newton’s best fashion, portrait and act works, the second’s the more provocative ones, and the third’s, which include several times, photos are from Newton’s own journal.

Helmut Newton was born in 1920 and died in 2004. He was one of the most provocative and talented photographers of the world. The Helmut Newton Stiftung cares about his lifetime work in Berlin. The museum and this foundation works together on this exhibition.

Do not miss Helmut Newton’s photo exhibition between 4 April 2013 and 14 July 2013 in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest! Let the art to whirl you itself, and spend a lovely afternoon with the fantastic pictures! Have a nice time!

Helmut Newton exhibition
April 4th – July 14th
Museum of Fine Arts

Il Terzo Cerchio Budapest review

Posted on by Budablogger

The seventh district in Budapest is getting more and more popular, and in the area where Il Terzo Cerchio is located you can find popular bars and clubs such as Szimpla Kert and Kuplong and some very nice hotels, for example Continental Hotel Zara which is the nearest neighbour of the restaurant.

Il Terzo Cerchio is thus not located by the shopping street, but a bit outside the main center of Budapest, but still in a popular area where lots of people walk around, for example looking for a restaurant after visiting the second largest synagogue in the world, also located in Dohány Utca. Sitting in the restaurant eating on a Wednesday evening it was obvious that quite a lot of people end up in this restaurant in this way, simply walking around and then they bump into this Italian restaurant. And as the restaurant looks good, many people make this their dinner place for the evening.

If you visit this Italian restaurant during lunch time you can get a three course meal deal for a great price. When coming for dinner the restaurant has quite a lot of dishes on their menu, so everyone should be able to find something pleased their tongue and stomach. They write about themselves that “It’s a bit more sophisticated than your typical Italian eatery, but the atmosphere is still homey and inviting.” Concerning the interior they describe Il Terzo Cerchio as a restaurant with “Large windows, plenty of space and a brick-covered, vaulted ceiling all contribute to a warm, rustic ambience.” I totally agree, and both descriptions suite the restaurant very well.

As a sophisticated Italian restaurant you will of course find lots of pizzas on the menu, lasagne, carbonara and other Italian dishes. There are also quite a lot of fish dishes on the menu at Il Terzo Cerchio and the price level is not to bad, though for sure not the cheapest in the area. When coming to the desserts they have some really good ones, and my personal favorite is the Chocolate Souffle (see picture).

Some price examples:

Dessert in Il Terzo Cerchio

Selection of bruschetta: 2150 HUF
Grilled chicken breast: 2450 HUF
Capricciosa pizza: 2550 HUF
Lasage: 2550 HUF
Chocolate Souflfe: 1200 HUF

Il Terzo Cerchio information

1074 Budapest, Dohány utca 40
+36 1 354-0788

Hungary and the Eurovision Song Contest – The big problem

Posted on by Budablogger

The Eurovision Song Contest is approaching and only a few days ago the Hungarian people voted for ByeAlex to represent Hungary in the Song Contest of 2013. I considered naming this article Bye Bye Alex, but the problem is much bigger than ByeAlex…

I remembered the first time I listened to the song with which ByeAlex won the hearts of the Hungarians. I thought that it fits perfectly into the Eurovision Song Contest, because it is so boring and strange. The problem is that it is nothing more than boring and strange. Last year the amazing Russian grandmothers sang about partying and it was a terrible song, but because it was cool and gave people a reason to smile, it ended up on second place. Well, ByeErik gives us a good reason to sleep, at least he gives me a reason to sleep.

The real Hungarian problem

But, the real Hungarian problem is not ByeAlex. Strange songs have won the Eurovision Song Contest before, so since miracles still do happen, ByeAlex might somehow qualify for the final, and if he first gets there, who knows. Maybe he will even get some points?!

The challenge is that it is real people voting for the winners in the Eurovision Song Contest. The voters vote for two things:

  • Great songs
  • Friends and nations they sympathize with

It is strange to notice how often a nation gets lots of points from the neighboring nations. If you start paying attention you can notice how Spain always get points from Portugal and France and there are lots of similar cases. This is where the problem starts. Hungary does not get points from their neighbors. The nations surrounding Hungary doesn’t really sympathize with the Hungarians, so when the points are given from Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, Ukraine, Austria and Serbia there are very few points sent in the direction of Hungary. The nearest one can come to a Hungarian neighbor when it comes to giving points is Finalnd… and that is it.

Eurovision 2011 example

In 2011 Kati Wolf performed for Hungary. I remember she was among the favorites for winning the entire competition… and yes, it was a great song that I still enjoy hearing when it is played on the radio. Hungary then received a total of 53 points (giving it an amazing 22nd place). They received points from the following nations: Finland (12 points), Sweden (5 points), France (2 points), Romania (7 points), Austria (2 points), Azerbadjan (2 points), Iceland (5 points), Spain (6 points), Ukraine (4 points) and Serbia (8 points). They received some points from their neighbors, but it could have been so many more points to gather.

Did you know that there is something called OGAE, which is the General Organisation of Eurovision Fans. Since 2007 they vote for a winner of the Eurovision Song Contest and here are the statistics.

  • OGAE winner 2007: Serbia (also won the Song Contest)
  • OGAE winner 2008: Sweden (ended up as number 18 in Song Contest)
  • OGAE winner 2009: Norway (also won the Song Contest)
  • OGAE winner 2010: Denmark (ended up 4th in the Song Contest)
  • OGAE winner 2011: Hungary (ended up as number 22 in Song Contest)
  • OGAE winner 2012: Sweden (also won the Song Contest)

There is one exception with Sweden in 2008, but normally the songs selected by OGAE does very well in the main competition. Not so for Hungary in 2011. That is why it doesn’t really matter if we send ByeAlex or Gigi Radics or anyone else to the Eurovision Song Contest, Hungary wan’t win anyway.

Back in 2007 Hungary got a ninth place in the Eurovision Song Contest when Magdolna Ruzsa performed her Unsubstantial Blues. This was the best performance in the Hungarian history of Eurovision Song Contest since 1994 when they got a fourth place as Friderika sang “Whom can I tell my sins?” That was also the first year Hungary took part in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Will Hungary ever win the Eurovision Song Contest?

If Hungary stay in the same relationship with their neighboring nations as now, they will not. They might get some points from here and there, but if a great song like the one in 2011 only grabs a few points from the neighboring nations it will never be enough to win the entire competition.

In 2013 ByeAlex will represent Hungary… if he qualifies for the final I will be very surprised. If he qualifies for the final and gets more than 50 points I will be greatly surprised. If he gets more than hundred points I will find my guitar, clear my voice and get ready for recording, because then I will publish the Budablogger version of the song of ByeAlex…